It’s a pretty good punch line in a play whose main characters would really rather not be one.

The sisters, Daisy and Violet, are conjoined twins — “Siamese,” as the ’30s-era terminology has it in “Side Show.”

The 1997 musical is based on the real-life story of the Hilton sisters, who went from being gaped at in carnival “freak shows” to wowing audiences as Depression-era vaudeville stars, before fading into obscurity.

When “Side Show” first hit Broadway 16 years ago, audiences and critics were of two minds about its touchy subject matter. The show earned some strong reviews but struggled at the box office, closing in less than four months.

Now, the musical is being reconceived from head to toe at La Jolla Playhouse, in a production that begins performances Tuesday.

And talk about well connected: Not only has the project reunited the original creative team of composer Henry Krieger and writer-lyricist Bill Russell, but it’s being helmed by Bill Condon, one of the top directors in Hollywood.

The director of Side Show Bill Condon speaks before a rehearsal for the play at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla on Thursday.

The director of Side Show Bill Condon speaks before a rehearsal for the play at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla on Thursday.

Condon, as it happens, has scant professional stage experience, but a golden touch with movie musicals: He wrote the film adaptation of the long-running “Chicago” (which won the 2002 Oscar for best picture), and both wrote and directed “Dreamgirls,” the 2006 movie version of the Krieger-composed Broadway hit.

A whole new show

On a recent evening at the Playhouse, all of those principals were gathered in a rehearsal room to watch the Broadway stars Erin Davie (who plays Violet), Emily Padgett (Daisy) and other cast members run through a few numbers, including “Like Everyone Else” (the song that sets the scene for the talent agent).

"Side Show" writer-lyricist Bill Russell speaks before a rehearsal for the play at La Jolla Playhouse.— Hayne Palmour IV

"Side Show" writer-lyricist Bill Russell speaks before a rehearsal for the play at La Jolla Playhouse.
— Hayne Palmour IV

Besides numbers that will be familiar to “Side Show” devotees — the work has developed into something of a cult favorite over the years, and has been produced regionally on numerous occasions — the cast also showcased “Typical Girls Next Door,” a song that’s new to the musical.

The ragtime-accented tune had Davie and Padgett mirroring each other’s moves as they performed Anthony Van Laast’s playful choreography.

In remarks before the run-through, Condon said “Side Show” has been revamped so much for this production that “we think of it as a new musical.”

In a separate interview, the director estimated that more than 60 percent of both script and score is fresh material. The approach is markedly different, too: The new version is “less a kind of ‘backstage musical’ (a show about show business), and more a play that explores the lives and characters of these women,” he says.

'Side' lights

A few facts about the musical and its subject:

Tony nods: The original 1997 Broadway production of “Side Show” earned four Tony nominations — including a then-unprecedented joint nod for Emily Skinner and onetime San Diegan Alice Ripley as the twins. (They didn’t win.)

‘Hardbody’ connection: Keala Settle, who plays the Fortune Teller in the new “Side Show,” earned a Tony nomination this year for her role in the Playhouse-bred “Hands on a Hardbody.”

Condon credits: Besides the movie musicals “Dreamgirls” and “Chicago,” director Bill Condon’s film credits include the current, WikiLeaks-centric thriller “The Fifth Estate” and the two most recent “Twilight” films. He won an Oscar in 1999 for writing the adapted screenplay to “Gods and Monsters.”

Hilton flicks: The real-life Hilton sisters appeared in two movies, playing versions of themselves in 1932’s “Freaks” (a favorite of director Condon’s) and 1951’s “Chained for Life.”

Commercial support: In an unusual step for a regional-theater-produced musical with potential Broadway prospects, the Playhouse/Kennedy Center staging of “Side Show” is being mounted without “enhancement” funds from commercial producers.